Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My Favorite Meal: Chicken Picatta

So, I am home from work and antibiotic-ed up. I didn't have full pneumonia, but it was headed that way. I planned to go in to work today, but after I couldn't stop crying last night (for no good reason other than I was just exhausted), Justin made me promise to stay home today. So I did, and I'm still trying not to freak out about having to use two-day's worth of my precious PTO. Anyway. I found this post that somehow apparently never got published back on 10/8, so here you go!

____________________________________________________________________

Last night, I made one of my most favorite dishes--Chicken Picatta! It's so lemon-y, butter-y, and wine-y...and totally delicious. I keep telling Justin that all he has to do to make me swoon for weeks is to make me this recipe. So far, no luck. Anyway, this is actually my younger sister's recipe, from when she used to work at a kitchen shop and help teach cooking classes.

Now, this particular recipe calls for a "dry white wine"--I usually use whatever mid-priced white wine the grocery store has on super clearance. This time, I used Mad Housewife Chardonnay. I couldn't stop giggling the whole time because the bottle was so hilarious.

Although I really wanted a glass, I didn't taste the wine by itself (yet), so I'm not sure if it can stand alone, but it worked great in the chicken! Anyway...on to the recipe!

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour into a Ziploc bag, and insert chicken pieces one at a time to coat. Spray a saute pan with non-stick spray then add vegetable oil and heat. Saute chicken 2-3 minutes on one side, flip over and cook the other side 1-2 minutes with the pan covered. Transfer cutlets to a plate, and place in the microwave or oven to keep warm. Pour off fat from the pan. Deglaze the pan with white wine, and add garlic. Cook until the garlic is slightly brown and the liquid is nearly gone. Add broth, lemon juice, and capers. Return chicken to pan and cook one more minute each side, or until juices run clear. Finish with a pat of butter and lemon slices on each piece of chicken.

Once, I skipped garnishing with butter. Don't do it. It isn't Chicken Picatta without the buttery-lemony-garlic flavor. I usually serve over wild rice or angel-hair pasta. Some places add mushrooms to this recipe, but I firmly believe that mushrooms have no place in buttery-lemony-garlic heaven. The end.

7 comments:

You had me at lemony. Then you threw in buttery. And then winey. And this is officially on next week's menu. Glad you don't have pneumonia - ps, this posted under October 8th so it's a ways back in your posts, just FYI.

That is one of my most FAVORITE dishes. I've even done a WW version of it... that Matt even loved. That's saying something! lol (Let me know if you want to try the recipe.) Yum. I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow. :)